Pudsey makes his DVD debut today.
The former winner of 'Britan's Got Talent' and star of his own self-titled movie joins fellow canine listers in bringing his charms to the screen, together with the help of his tireless owner Ashleigh, oh, and one of the champions of his success, 'BGT' judge David Walliams.
Is Pudsey one of the growling greats? Not yet, but possibly in time... here we take a look at ten of the all-time screen doggy stars, and see how they wagged their way to the big time! Who's your favourite?
10 Biggest Doggy Film Stars
Toto, The Wizard of Oz (1939)(01 of10)
Dorothy Gale’s much loved and loyal pet dog Toto is the only animal in the film that doesn’t speak. In the original film, Toto was actually played by a female terrier who real name was Terry. Terry was, in fact, paid more than many of the human actors for her part, receiving $125 a week whilst other below the line talent reportedly received just $50 to $100 a week! A lesser known fact is that, due to the popularity of the movie and how famous her role became, her owner and trainer officially changed Terry’s name to Toto in real life. A permanent memorial for Toto can be found at the Hollywood Forever cemetery in Los Angeles.
Lady And The Tramp (1955)(02 of10)
This animated romantic comedy starring two dogs from different classes of life won hearts the world over, as we all saw Lady fall in love with Tramp. In 1937, Joe Grant, a story man at Disney Studio came up with the idea, inspired by the antics of his own spaniel dog, Lady, and how she was overshadowed by his new baby. Joe created some sketches and approached Walt Disney with the idea, but Walt thought Lady was too sweet and therefore the storyline would not have enough action. Soon after, Walt was reading a short story by Ward Greene in which a cynical dog character was involved. This led Walt to deciding to incorporate Tramp into the story and 'Lady and The Tramp' was born.
Pudsey (2014)(03 of10)
One of Britain’s most famous dogs, Pudsey was the winner of 'Britain’s Got Talent' 2012 and is one half of the duo that is Ashleigh and Pudsey! Due to his newfound fame, Pudsey is now also the star of his very own film, 'Pudsey The Dog: The Movie'
Beethoven (1992)(04 of10)
The large mutt with the larger heart has been the centre of attention for 7 Beethoven films to date. Chris, the dog who played Beethoven, was actually trained by Karl Lewis Miller, the famous animal trainer who has also trained K-9 and Babe. Beethoven the dog had such a successful impact in America that a lot of young people thought the reason the name Beethoven was famous was because of this dog and film!
Milo, The Mask (1994)(05 of10)
Stanley Ipkiss’ partner in crime, Milo is unforgettable in The Mask. The brown and white Jack Russell Terrier is never not at Stanley’s side and even has a chance encounter with the Mask of Loki himself. Animal actor Max McCarter was 5 years old when he auditioned for the role of Milo. Director Chuck Russell found Max to be “the most perky and alive” of all the candidates. Max actually nearly lost the role when it was revealed that another upcoming film was going to feature a Jack Russell so the producers debated about using the same breed of dog, however, Max’s personality and acting ability won out.
Bullseye, Oliver Twist (1948)(06 of10)
Bill Sikes' feared and furried pet, Bullseye the bull terrier has “faults of temper in common with his owner”, and is almost seen as the animal version of Bill himself, however the temper of Bill is also revealed on many of Bullseye’s scars. Lucy Fox, the granddaughter of the director, Sir Carol Reed, said in 2008, “When I first saw the film, I was worried the dog had not had a happy time because he seemed so tatty and unloved - but in reality he turned out to be highly-trained and very well looked after. He spent a lot of time in make-up to look so battered.”
Pongo and Perdita, 101 Dalmatians (1961)(07 of10)
Pongo and Perdita are the legendary parents in Disney’s '101 Dalmatians' to 15 Dalmatian puppies and adoptive parents to eighty four more. When the evil Cruella De Vil sets her eyes on turning the puppies into fur coats, Pongo and Perdita do everything in their power to rescue the young pups. After the very expensive Disney cartoon ‘Sleeping Beauty’ failed at the box office, there was talk of closing down the animation department at the Disney studio but an animation experiment at the time meant that putting spots on all the dogs would only cost half of what it would have and the rest is history.
Fang, Harry Potter (2001)(08 of10)
The loveable half-giant, half-man gamekeeper in 'Harry Potter', Rubeus Hagrid has a pet dog named Fang. Fang is an oversized boarhound dog who lives with Hagrid in his hut outside Hogwarts Castle, on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Fang is known to be as protective as Hagrid, who once said of him to the students, “There’s nothin’ that lives in the forest that’ll hurt yeh if yer with me or Fang.”
Marley, Marley & Me (2008)(09 of10)
Featuring one of the biggest ever doggy film stars, 2008’s 'Marley & Me' set a record for the largest Christmas Day box office ever that year with over $14m in ticket sales. Marley the dog was actually portrayed by 22 different Labrador retrievers to portray his different ages but the main dog who played the older Marley was a shelter dog who was once given 24 hours to live before he was rescued in Florida and cast as the loveable mutt. Hankies at the ready!
The Dog, The Artist (2011)(10 of10)
Aptly named as The Dog in 'The Artist', the doggy actor is actually named Uggie in real life. Uggie’s career started when he was rescued by an animal trainer and started a career touring with a dog talent show in United States and South America before starring in commercials. His performance in 'The Artist' was considered by many to have upstaged those of his co-stars and even won him the Palm Dog award in Cannes. It was announced by his trainer that Uggie has now retired.
'Pudsey: The Movie' is available on DVD from today, from Entertainment One. Watch the trailer below...